Darkest Misery by Tracey Martin Page A

the magi, but he’s right.”
    Gunthra paled. “I trust what my informant saw.”
    â€œI’m not doubting your informant,” the goblin said. “Just the rest of this information.”
    Devon leaned around Lucen toward me. “Are we having fun yet?”
    I closed my eyes and silently swore, trusting Devon would gather the gist.
    Him, and everyone else, making me long for an entire bottle of Jameson’s to drown out their noise.
    And what noise it was. The arguing continued, much of it surrounding me and my role in everything. I wasn’t the only one starting to tune it out either. Tom’s phone buzzed, and he got up to take the call.
    I watched him walk outside the room, envious of his excuse to leave and amused that he seemed glad for the chance. So, for that reason, when his emotions went into a tailspin, I noticed right away. Whatever news he’d received on that call couldn’t be good if I felt his frustration and anger so clearly.
    I caught his eye and silently left the table to join him in the hall. He hung up as I approached. “Are you okay?”
    Tom rubbed his eyes. “I’m fine, but we have a problem. Jessica, Olef is dead.”

Chapter Eleven
    The floor dropped out from under me. That’s what it felt like. I actually pressed against the wall for support. I thought my spinning head might fly off in a million directions.
    â€œDead? No.” Olef couldn’t be dead. It wasn’t just that we needed him here—his knowledge and his calming presence—although we did. But I counted Olef as a friend. Not one I knew well, but one I’d known for a long time. He was a good person. Always kind, invariably helpful, and damn it—a good tipper too.
    Of all the stupid things to remember. Shit. I felt sick to my stomach.
    â€œThe cops are on the scene already,” Tom was saying as he punched numbers into his phone. “Hold it together. I need to get us over there before they mess things up.”
    Cops? Mess what up?
    Before I could ask, the answer came to me like another blow to the head. It was obvious. Olef wasn’t merely dead. He’d been murdered, and quite possibly—likely—because of his involvement with this meeting. Had someone found out about it and tried to silence him?
    That line of thought opened up a hundred new questions and problems, none of which I could deal with in my current state.
    Olef. Dead. I was stuck on that, and my emotions seesawed between nauseated grief and searing rage in a way that totally did not help my head.
    â€œJess?” Lucen appeared in the hall, and he put a hand on my arm. “What happened?”
    â€œOlef was killed,” I whispered, only belatedly wondering if Tom would be upset with me for sharing the news.
    Swearing, Lucen wrapped his arms around me, and at the moment, I didn’t care how many Gryphons saw as I collapsed against him.
    â€œHe was a friend.” A friend, and we needed him. Though my chest hurt, I couldn’t overlook the cold practicality of the situation. Even with my head buried against Lucen, I could hear the arguments continue inside the conference room.
    Without Olef, we were toast.
    I took a shaky breath, realized Tom was watching me, and released Lucen. I had to get my head back in the game fast. “I want to be part of this investigation,” I told Tom.
    He nodded slowly, sticking the phone away. “A team is heading over now. You should join them with me. Olef was searching for materials. It’s possible whoever did this might not have found them.”
    Lucen didn’t let go of my wrists. “You’re certain Olef’s death is related to this?”
    â€œI can’t be one hundred percent, but it seems likely. It’s clearly homicide from what I was told.”
    I closed my eyes, hoping however Olef had died, it had been quick. Fear of the answer kept me from asking, but I’d find out soon enough.